The Cornelia Ye Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award honors two outstanding graduate teaching assistants (TAs), one domestic and one international, who have clearly demonstrated dedication and excellence in their teaching responsibilities.

Eligibility & requirements

Both domestic and international graduate TAs are encouraged to apply.

Applicants must:

• Have received excellent teaching evaluations
• Have a minimum of two completed semesters of TA experience at Cornell
• Be currently enrolled on a full-time basis

Awards

Recipients receive a $500 award in recognition of their exceptional achievements in teaching. Recipients will also be acknowledged at a CTI ceremony and publicly at the University-wide teaching conference in the spring semester. Additionally, recipients will create a short video about their teaching experience at Cornell.

Application process

The application window for 2023-24 has closed. Check back in late Fall 2024 to apply for the 2024-25 award. 

Prepare an application packet

To apply for the Cornelia Ye award, you will need to prepare an application document containing the information listed below, to be submitted as a single PDF file.

Please include the following information:

• Cover letter written by the applicant that highlights teaching experiences at Cornell
  (maximum length: one page)
• A summary sheet listing course number, title, level, and enrollments taught in the last three years; details of associated responsibilities (teaching, grading, course development, review sessions, office hours, etc.), and overall averages of evaluations/open-ended comment synopsis
  (maximum length: three pages)
• Teaching CV that highlights teaching experiences, teaching awards, and related professional development experiences
  (maximum length: two pages)
• Teaching philosophy statement
  (maximum length: one page)
• One letter of recommendation completed by a faculty member of record for a course taught. This letter should be sent to ctigradprogram@cornell.edu, with the subject line ‘Cornelia Ye Recommendation Letter’. 
  (maximum length: one page)
• Letter(s) of support from former student(s), which must be included with the application package.
  (limit of two letters, maximum length: one page each)

Please contact the CTI with questions about the application process.